To (over) simplify things, companies exist to make money. So what's the point of giving that money away?
While estimates of what Canadian companies contribute to charity each year vary widely, for many companies, giving to the needy doesn't end with a splashy cheque presentation. A survey of over 900 businesses found that 53 per cent encouraged their employees to volunteer during work hours or accommodated their employees' volunteering activities.
“It's about staff motivation. It's a great way to engage your employees and build a deeper connection across the company,” says Rob King, vice-president of strategic marketing for Sage Software Inc. in Richmond, B.C., which, on June 6, sent its 400 branch employees out to community charitable groups for the day.
MAKE IT EASY
At Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. in Chicago, the business gives its employees a paid day off to volunteer. The only requirement? Workers must volunteer as a group to keep the team spirit alive.
Glen Tullman, Allscripts chief executive officer, thinks it's important to make volunteering as easy as possible so even the most timid employees will try it. “It's designed to be easy. We certainly don't want to penalize them or force them to take a day without pay,” he says.
Other companies try to simplify the process by setting a specific day aside for volunteering. At Mars Canada Inc., in Bolton, Ont., employees took off for a good chunk of the day in early June to volunteer at a local animal shelter. The company kept the day's schedule flexible so employees could come and go to match their workload.
Meanwhile, Telus Corp. makes it simple for employees to sign up for its annual day of service, which this year attracted 8,000 employees, family and friends, to help out at soup kitchens, and to plant trees. The company now posts its volunteer opportunities online.
“It is more of a challenge than you might think making sure the scale, scope and number of activities are meaningful for that number of people,” says Janet Yale, executive vice-president of corporate affairs, at Telus in Ottawa.
MAKE IT FUN
“We like to point out that the first three letters of fundraising is F-U-N,” jokes Doug Appleby, manager of community relations for UPS Canada in Mississauga. No wonder the corporation is known for its wild fundraising efforts. This year employees, and in fact anyone crazy enough to want to try it, can help pull UPS trucks with other brawny folk for the United Way.
SAS Canada in Toronto also prefers to keep charitable work on the zany side.
“Going around and collecting money for something, that sucks. It doesn't get people talking or involved,” says Ewan Dunderdale, business relationship manager and head of the social committee.
To that end, last November SAS raised $32,291.01 with its November Drive to beat prostate cancer. Men at the office let their mustaches grow until the end of the month. While employees had a blast checking out each other's facial hair, Mr. Dunderdale admits he was worried how his buttoned-up clients would react.
“My concern was that we might come across as unprofessional, but we didn't get any bad reactions whatsoever. Some people laughed at us because we did look ridiculous in these things, but it ended up being a great ice breaker at meetings,” he says.
Some clients even pledged to keep the drive going – and growing.
MAKING CONTACT
But how do charities react to 30 people showing up ready to paint their hallways or passing out food on the street? They're prepared, says Mr. King at Sage. As a staff member called around to find out what help was needed, they discovered that most non-profits and not-for-profits were old pros at taking on corporate volunteers. They had projects ready and waiting the days employees showed up to work.
